San Mateo High School - Elm Yearbook (San Mateo, CA)

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1, u ff 'W'N .1 .. .V V G 4 4 w J V - ,fx 3 W , '. tt ,I 1 ' 'V 7. 'L '.r1 , VL nip 1' '. ta l w 44 - 1 W ' e-. 1 t, 5' 35. 1 . 1 A .' ' 1 ' , L . , ' ,Q ifif i - 1 g i , ,.f'! r,,1 W . . pt, .5 3 ' ug, U-9 The Roots of Our ELM Most of us think we are modern. yet review the ELMS of the past 40 years and you realize that teen-agers then and now differ only on the surface. The student body of four decades ago griped as we do. They danced to sweet sentimental music as we do. to many of the very same tunes -- and so these tunes head our ELM pages of '46, Looking back, they remember that their years in S. M. H. S. were some of the happiest of their lives, and so will we. The first ELM was published only four years after the San Mateo Union High School district was created in 1902. Since that 1906 ELM we have de- veloped from such small beginnings as a faculty of three and a graduating class of four. 1907-The graduates numbered ten. Joe Big Time drove to school in a hopped up horse and buggy. 1909 - Student body meetings lilld student government were given school time. The students took their work seriously: the ELM states, This year the oflice of yell leader has been purely nominal as there has been nothing to yell about except examsf, 1911 - We move to the site of the present J. C.. from a house in the ball- park. At dances students waltzed at arm's, length and referred. with raised eyebrows, to the Barbary Hug. 913 - Fords began to appear on tl1e streets of good old S. M.. frightening ,iorses and old ladies. The two-step was fast replacing the polka on our dance floors. Girls' skirts still nearly touched tl1e floor. Boys' collars were high, round and stiff. 1915 - The Hi was born. Birth of a Nation was showing at the local movie houses. 1918 -- Freshmen were admitted to the varsity this year fa man-power shortage then. tool. Several notables played on our championship Rugby team. There were 60 stars in our service flag.

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A K 1 C t if QC ' t , affc? mac? G flfI?fil?12l:w cmm cu eififtflfltlf'hIfI?lE0IYl2l9'6.I. 3+critii,m1tc2t,j SKI I' FUHIJEN This is an Anniversary issue of the ELM. It is exactly forty years since the first l'il.NI. a thin pamphlet of brown paper with a paucity of pictures. went out with the graduates of 1006-all ten of them. Une lmndred students and six teachers composed the school in those days. and the school itself was a little frame house on the estate then known as St. Margaretis school property-the top building in the left picture. fn the front yard of the school stood an elm tree around which the life of the school centered. and when it came to naming the first literary brainchild of the San Mateo High School. it was most fitting that it be called the ELM. The tree itself soon vanished. giving way to progress. even as San Mateo Hi progressed from the rented Dixon cottage on Ellsworth Avenue. where it opened on September 15. 1902. with three teachers and twenty-seven students. fTbird picturel Hut the fame and the concept represented by the elm-,the very heart of school activ ity-lives on. we hope. in our annual. The first editor of the ELM was Miss Winifred Burke. a gay little seventeen-year-old. hlled with enthusiasm for her editorial task. That is the same Miss Burke who is now the distinguished principal of Turnbull School. Since its humble beginning. the little pamphlet has grown into the present voluminous volume. expanding with the school and reflecting its progress and development. YVithin this issue your ELM staff has tried to show you some of the stages in this development. As you turn these pages you will be carried back to earlier days. There will be familiar faces in some of the pictures. and throughout you will be reminded of the transition high school boys have made from knickers to blue jeans. the girls from bloomers and blue serge to today's shorts and sweaters. Concurrently we have moved from an era when rules were laid down as law by a nmstached principal to student participation. Student government is permitted to function to full capacity. As the ability of boys and girls to emerge as individuals and develop their own particular talents in the fields that interest them most has become apparent. dramatics. music. journalism. shop activities. etc.. were provided for them. .Ns students manifested interest in student affairs and the desire to govern themselves. the Commission System of Student Government began. We are all familiar with the functioning of student government within the school and the training it gives us for intelligent participation in civic government later. Now. progress has gone a step further. Representative students take part one day a year in administering the actual govermnent of our city. Furthermore. for those students keenly interested in current affairs. national and international. there is opportunity to join the San Mateo Chapter of the California Junior Statesmen of America. affiliated with the state organization whose slogan is MMake Democracy Vlforkf' The Junior Statesmen form their own state government. have legislative conventions. and conduct their affairs on a state basis. This year several of the officers have come from our own San Mateo group. Glancing at the past. pictured in this ELM. you will be amused at the ideas and the clothes and the fashions. just as forty years from now the San Mateo students of the class of l986 will be amused at ours. The externals change, yet the same feeling must be common to all graduates about to leave this school. A part of that feeling is certainly regret at leaving the place where we have spent the major portion of our lives for four years. Vffe came in, kids from grammar school. and we go out young men and young women. A part of that feeling is certainly affec- tion for familiar places and things-the noisy. crowded halls, the desks. the gym. the athletic fields. .-X great part of what we feel is gratitude. too. to the old school itself. and to the country and community for having given us this opportunityg and gratitude, as well. to the teachers whose patience and understanding. and the spark that some of them have kindled in us, have been above and beyond the line of duty and not part of any job. Feeling all this in a very inarticulate way. we face the future. It is we. they tell us. who will have to cope with such things as atomic energy and world organization. iVe hope that our preparation and independence will make that struggle intelligent and honest. The next forty years will record even greater accomplislnnents at San Mateo High School. They will be written by classes of the future. Your ELM Staff has given you a brief look into yesteryear and has tried to set down your accomplishments. and your activities. and thoughts through this past year. Look at that record on the following pages!

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' n I l Y it .X Are Forty Years eep 1919 - Students first heard the presidential election returns broadcast - through the headphones of a crystal set. The Co-op was organized. Girls still were wearing stockings. long and black. It would be several years before the famous bobby sock came into its own. 1922 - Burlingame Hi completed this year. Sorrowfully the student body separates. 1925 - Clubs boast gigantic memberships and many activities. Teen-age clothes start modernizing. 1927 - Alma Mater moves to Bellevue and Delaware. Rallies are impres- sive. A bonfire 35 feet high for the Big Little game. Girls cut their hair to boyish bobs. Shops are built. 1930-The flapper era sets in. Marcels appear everywhere. Girls sport madly swooping hemlines. Some boys wear knickers. 1935 f Cnr tower is sacrificed to safety when our school is earthquake- proofed. S. M. students spend afternoons at Burlingame Hi while repairs are being made. 1937 - Virginia Gilmore graduates. Did you see this Hollywood starlet in Gcwonder Manw? Edith Pemberton, of the girls' swimming team. breaks world records. 1939 - Mseniors vote that hazing is barbaric and must cease. 1940 - Sinatra age begins. Music building. Mickey Mouse and Mae Nvest poll the most votes in a student body election. fDeclared void. J 1941 - War! Again we prepare to save and sacrifice. Will' Bonds are bought. We say good-bye to seniors of draft age. A service flag is ordered. Our educa- tion takes on a new and vital importance as returning heroes advise us to study harder. 1945-Peace. with H00 stars in our service flag. Thirty-nine are gold. And here we are in the Att mic Ave! i U -By ,lane Foley